Share Four Somethings - April 2023

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 My Saturday was busy because it was a travel day (even though the travel itself took only a couple hours total) so I decided to save sharing my somethings until today. So Happy Monday, Happy May, and here is Something I Loved, Something I Read, Something I Learned and Something I Ate from April!

Something Loved

April included lots of family time so obviously that's what I loved most! In addition to the time spent with Harrison and his family, we had a visit from Maryland family for the Easter weekend, and I was able to spend about ten days in Maryland with the family. And bonus time with friends as well. 

Our adventures with Harrison, Angela, and Veronica included attending Palm Sunday service and the Easter kids' activities following that, and exploring some local parks.

  

Spencer, Landon and Meaghan, and Aubrey visited for Easter weekend. They attended church service with us and then Harrison's family joined us for the rest of the day to enjoy a big meal together, and some bubble blowing and sidewalk chalk drawing.

Then on my visit to Maryland, I was able to spend lots of time with them again, plus lots of time with Kennady and Dan, including attending Kennady's recitals and an awards presentation. I got as many Aubrey snuggles as I could, played with worship team on Sunday, hung out with friends, and even taught classes at co-op.

Something Read

As I was reading the thoughts of the Five Minute Friday bloggers this weekend, I found this article at Eyes on Jesus and Shine really resonated with me: Persist Again and Keep On

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Fair As A Star by Mimi Matthews

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

   

I just finished When Tomorrow Came by Hannah Linder so I'll be writing that review today if all goes well. I need to really focus on finishing Remarkably Bright Creatures because it's a library book and the list of those waiting for it is quite long, so no way I can renew! I also have two new books for review that I'll need to get moving on. The rest of my reading news is at Just A Second if you want to see what those recent reviews and what I have coming up.

Something Learned

This is an interesting quote I saved to ponder, but of course I didn't take note of where I saw it. Someone's blog, I assume, but I no longer remember the context or whose blog! I'm sorry that I'm failing to credit the person that shared it. I haven't really had the opportunity to test the theory this suggests, but I would like to. Not scientifically, just anecdotally. I do believe conversations around a campfire tend to be more intimate and relational, and most people find it easier to share deeply personal thoughts in that setting. Probably because the lighting is warm and low and everyone tends to gaze into the glow of the flames rather than at the person speaking. Do you agree? I'm also curious about the possibility that creative thinking comes easier in soft lighting rather than harsh. I think that's worth testing too.

I have noticed that when all the lights are on, people tend to talk about what they are doing―their outer lives. Sitting round in candlelight or firelight, people start to talk about how they are feeling―their inner lives. They speak subjectively, they argue less, there are longer pauses. To sit alone without any electric light is curiously creative. I have my best ideas at dawn or at nightfall, but not if I switch on the lights―then I start thinking abut projects, deadlines, demands, and the shadows and shapes of the house become objects, not suggestions, things that need to be done, not a background to thought. ~Jeannette Winterson

I've returned a few times to this article on Lois Flowers' blog―How To Be More Gracious in 2023: 6 Practical Tips―because although the six tips are simple and common sense, they obviously bear repeating and practicing in this contentious world we live in. I'm still working on doing these gracious things consistently.

Something On My Plate

I've said this before―probably every month!―but I'm not good at remembering to photograph food. So I get to the end of the month, when I want to share new things I tried, and I have trouble remembering. Here's a sampling from April. 

For Resurrection Day, we grilled kebabs. This is the third year in a row that we've done a Mediterranean menu rather than an "Easter ham" since I decided I couldn't bring myself to eat pork during Passover of all times. We do eat pork! Just that eating it to celebrate the fulfillment of the Passover feast didn't sit well at all with me. So we have lamb. Lamb kebabs because that's a lot easier to get right, in my opinion. We do beef kebabs as well, because not everyone in our family is a lamb fan, and choices are good! I marinated both in a pomegranate molasses marinade. We had some issues with the grill so I finished the beef under the broiler, and unfortunately overcooked them a bit. Lamb and veggies turned out great though! 

This photo does not do it justice, but I tried something really new - camel meatballs. That is correct. Meatballs made with ground camel meat. This is not a traditional recipe, but it's one for which I had the additional ingredients. We all liked it and concluded that camel tastes enough like beef that we wouldn't have known the difference if we hadn't been told.

Another new recipe I tried was basically a freezer meal. And again, the photo doesn't accurately portray how appetizing it was. I loved this super easy recipe for barbecue chicken done in the slow cooker. There are sweet potatoes and corn in it, so it's a one-pot meal. Even the cornbread is baked in the slow cooker, sitting on top of the stew. 

We visited Bubbly Hall on the weekend it opened, and were very impressed. It's sort of like food court meets bar meets market. I tried the Flamin' Chicken & Waffles from Fay's Crêpes and it was amazing.

What were the highlights of your April? Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at Overflowing With Thankfulness in the Share Four Somethings link party.

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